To further the goal of the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. This will be done by:

1. Broad public outreach to instill the vision of pioneering Mars.
2. Support of ever more aggressive government funded Mars exploration programs around the world.
3. Conducting Mars exploration on a private basis.

Starting small, with hitchhiker payloads on government funded missions, we intend to use the credibility that such activity will engender to mobilize larger resources that will enable stand-alone private robotic missions and ultimately human exploration.

“Their science payload was particularly amazing because of the way they used common household products,” judge Heather Smith said in a statement on the Mars Society’s Web site. “They had an electric toothbrush to clean off rocks, a standard mechanical drill, and a common thermometer.”